Summer in Cambridge

I still know the back way home from the Mass Pike after all these years. Down Storrow Dr., cross the Hahvahd bridge and turn left onto Memorial Dr. Take Mt. Auburn 'til the Tennis Club and take a right, then a left onto Brattle. Bear right and then a quick left on the street that has the BBN school. Up to Huron and take a left, go past Armando's Pizza and take a right. Go past the fire station that you used to be able to by 25 cent tonics from and past Raymond Park, past Fitzy's old house, down the hill on Walden St. and take the third right onto Sycamore.

So many things have changed in Cambridge, yet it still seems the same. The city itself has physically changed, but it feels just like it did 30 years ago. I watch my son, Owen, play catch with my nephew, Liam on the dead end street, during a cool New England summer night. I sit on the front porch and chat about the Sawx with Big Yiayia and drink in the moment. I want it to last forever. I want to be 11 years old again. Play on the street 'til dark and have Ma yell for us to come in. I'm glad my kids can experience, for at least a few days, what I did.

Mila, Zoe and Owen are tired of me pointing out every personal landmark in Cambridge as we walk around the City, but I do it anyway. My old elementary school, the house where Bill Walton lived during his Celtic days, the pit, plus Davis Sq., Porter and of course, The Square, all have stories. Some I can retell and some I can't. And that's what makes Cambridge special to me. Especially in the summer.